Sir William James, 1st Bt

published by John Raphael Smith, after Sir Joshua Reynoldsmezzotint, published 10 August 1783 (1780-1782)17 7/8 in. x 12 7/8 in. (454 mm x 328 mm) paper sizePurchased with help from the Friends of the National Libraries and the Pilgrim Trust, 1966Reference CollectionNPG D36481

Current affairs

William Petty, 2nd Earl of Shelburne resigns as Prime Minister over the proposed peace terms with the United States. Frederick North, 2nd Earl of Guilford briefly forms a government with Charles James Fox in April but is succeeded by a government under William Pitt the Younger who, at the age of 24 becomes the youngest British Prime Minister ever to take office. The highwayman John Austin is the last person to be publicly executed at Tyburn.

Art and science

Physician and natural philosopher Erasmus Darwin begins publication of A System of Vegetables, a translation from Latin of the work of Swedish botanist Carolus Linnaeus in which he coins many common English names of plants.

International

Defeat of Charles James Fox's India Bill in the House of Lords which aimed to assist ailing British East India Company. American War of Independence: Treaty of Paris is signed by Britain, France, Spain and the United States, under which the British government recognises US independence. Britain begins to evacuate loyalists and the last British troops leave New York City three months later.

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